Vegan Jamaican Beef Patty

Patties were at the centre of my childhood growing up in Jamaica.. a bit of a fresh patty smashed between a warm coco bread is one of my favourite bites of food ever.

When I went vegan I knew I had to replicate a vegan beef patty.. And coco bread recipe too, which I'll share too!

This is one of my favourites, so worth that first bite moment.

Patty Filling Ingredients:

1 cup Vegan Soya Mince

3 cups of Vegetable Stock (Mushroom or beef style would be preferred)

1 teaspoon of Molasses

3 spring Onions Diced

1 tablespoon of Tomato paste

1 tablespoon of White Miso

1 tablespoon of Molasses

1 teaspoon of Pimento

1 tablespoon of Brown Sugar

2 Onions Diced

3 Cloves of Garlic

Two dried Mushrooms of your choice

A tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves

1 scotch bonnet finely diced and deseeded

Salt and pepper to taste

Pastry Ingredients:

2 cups of white Flour

3/4 cup of cold cubed vegan block butter

1/3 cup of cold iced water

2 tablespoons of turmeric powder

1 teaspoon of fine sea salt

3 tablespoons of melted butter for assembly

Mix for Brushing Pastry:

2 Tablespoons Plant Milk of Choice

1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup

2 Tablespoon of Melted butter

Recipe:

Pastry: First start with the pastry be adding two cups of sieved spelt flour in a food processor with the sea salt and turmeric powder. Pulse until the dry ingredients are completely combined. On the slowest setting on the food processor, slowly drop the cold cubed butter into the mixture also the metal blades to cut the better into the flour until the consistency is reminiscent of fine breadcrumbs - finally add the iced cold water slowly, allowing the pastry to combine into one ball. Slight flour a surface and form into a ball, you don’t want to work the pastry at this point, as your hands could melt the butter to touch. Wrap in cling film and set aside in the fridge to rest for at least 1hr.

Filling:

Start with a pan with two tablespoons of olive oil on a medium heat. Add your onions and a pinch of salt to help to sweat the onions down. Be careful that the pan isn't too hot that it browns the onions too quickly. Allow to cook for 10mins till the onions are cooked through. How add your seasonings and spices, add the thyme, garlic, pimento, scotch bonnet and allow to cook for a minute or so. Now add your cup of mince allow the spices to flavour to work it's way into the vegan mince. Then add the miso, tomato paste, molasses, sugar and your dried mushrooms along with the stock. Stir so that all the ingredients are combined, then add one bay leaf. Bring to a gentle simmer and cover, allow it to cook down for about 20mins checking half way through to ensure nothing is sticking at the bottom. After 20mins check for seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. The sauce should be reduced, and should be coating the vegan mince. Allow the mixture to cool for 30 mins before assembling.

Patty assembly:

Before starting set oven to preheat to gas mark 6. Takerested pastry from the fridge, cut into half and then cut the halves into three pieces, leaving 6 balls of dough. Flour surface and roll of dough to a ½ inch, turning as you rool to get an even consistency. Take a small bowl and with a sharp knife cut around the rolled out pastry to get a circle. Remove access pastry and brush with melted butter (making sure the butter isn’t too hot. Add ⅓ cup of the filling to one half of the circle, slightly flattening out but leaving a bit of the edge around the rim. Fold the other half around the filling and press using a fork and your fingers around the edge of the pastry to get the signature patty look. Place on a baking tray with parchment paper, and repeat until all of the pastry is finished. Now place the tray in the freezer for 15 minutes allowing the pastry to be extra cold when hitting the oven, to get extra flaky patties. Once the patties have been in the freezer, prick with a fork a few times on top to allow steam to escape, and then brush with pastry brushing mix. Bake for 20 minutes in the centre of the oven until golden.